A former St. Paul Public Schools custodian charged Thursday with peeping under a bathroom stall at an 11-year-old boy is also under investigation in connection with complaints by two other students.

Walter Johann Happel, 62, of Newport worked for the district for nearly 30 years, and he had been investigated in the past for his alleged behavior toward students. He worked most recently at Linwood Monroe Arts Plus, 810 Palace Ave.

Of three complaints involving students in 2003 and 2011, two were investigated by police. In addition, a teenage relative in 1991 accused him of sexual abuse at his home, according to a police report. He wasn't charged in the past cases; police and prosecutors said there was insufficient evidence.

St. Paul crime

On Wednesday, the day after Happel's arrest, St. Paul police received two more complaints from students, which are under investigation, said Sgt. Paul Paulos, a police spokesman.

The district had reprimanded Happel in the past, according to his personnel file and the criminal complaint filed Thursday. After the February case was reported, the district put Happel on administrative leave, and he resigned.

Asked Thursday if the school district could have done something differently about Happel, including trying to terminate Happel's employment earlier when a pattern of allegations emerged, St. Paul Public Schools spokeswoman Julie Schultz Brown said she couldn't speculate.

"This is one of the most difficult situations any school district can deal with," she said.

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"We're taking it incredibly seriously. We stuck by the rules, the protocols, the laws. We did what we were supposed to do. ... He doesn't work here any longer, and we're doing everything possible to make sure our kids are safe."

An attorney representing Happel at his first court appearance Thursday left without talking to reporters, as did Happel's family.

On Thursday, a judge said Happel could post $10,000 bail or be released on conditions, including that he surrender his passport and stay away from the school. He was conditionally released Thursday. He couldn't be reached for comment.

PRIVATE ROOM IN BACK

The Ramsey County attorney's office Thursday charged Happel with surreptitious interference with privacy, a felony.

The criminal complaint gives the following information:

An 11-year-old used the restroom Feb. 19, "returned to class and told his teacher that Happel had peeked underneath the stall's privacy wall and smiled at him," the complaint said.

The school district put Happel on paid administrative leave Feb. 20. He was told not to report to work; he handed over his keys and badge that allowed him access to the building. Later that day, employees learned Happel was back inside the school, and one confronted Happel. He had items on a dolly and was removing things from the school.

"It was later discovered that Happel kept a room in the building that few people knew about in addition to his office in the boiler room," the complaint said. Officers later found in the room an open packet of Enzyte topical intensifying gel (the company is described on its website as "natural male enhancement and erectile support"), a packet of Stimulean energy capsules and a bottle of testosterone pills.

Brown said there was little she could say about it other than that it's a storage room and is part of the ongoing investigation.

The school contacted police to report the incident Feb. 21. The 11-year-old said he had been seated on a toilet with his pants down, and saw between the stall's cracks that a man had entered the bathroom. The man looked over the privacy wall and then under it, the boy reported. He left and returned a short time later.

"The man smiled and laughed and looked over the wall and underneath it again," the boy said, according to the complaint. He reported "the man's actions made him feel sad. He said he was scared and shaky and he remained on the toilet until the man left, and he then told his teacher."

The boy said the man had blue eyes and he recognized him as someone who cleaned the bathroom and lunchroom.

Happel resigned from the school district Feb. 26, the complaint said.

LIES, HE SAYS

Police arrested Happel on Tuesday. He said he didn't know why he had been arrested, and an investigator "told him it was related to an incident where he looked under a stall and smiled at a boy," the complaint said. "Happel said that was a lie. He said he had gone around picking up trash at breakfast time and some kids told him there was a mess in the first-floor boys' bathroom."

Happel said he left because someone was in the stall. He returned twice, seeing feet still there both times. The second time, the kid said, "Hey, stop it!" and Happel left, he reported. When he returned, Happel said, the feet were gone.

The investigator asked how far under the stall Happel had looked to see the boy's feet. Happel demonstrated by bending "over at the waist with his head down to his knee level," the complaint said. The investigator asked why he didn't announce himself instead of looking. Happel said that he called out, "Anybody in here?" but no one answered, according to the complaint.

When told the boy saw his face and identified him, "Happel said the boy must have seen out through the cracks, but he denied that he could look into the stall through the cracks," the complaint said.

Happel told police he returned to the building after he was asked to leave in order to get his files to do his taxes. Police asked if he had a computer in his office and he said he had his laptop, but then said he didn't bring his laptop there.

TWO NEW CASES REPORTED

Two other cases were reported to police Wednesday. A 13-year-old said that when he was in fourth grade, Happel used a urinal next to him and said, "Why don't you take out your penis more? We are both boys," according to the complaint. The boy said it occurred twice. He also said that Happel gave candy to kids and one time told him he didn't have candy with him, but had some in his office and asked him to follow him there. The boy didn't go inside.

Another 13-year-old boy reported a time when he was sitting on a toilet and "heard someone in the vent above the toilet," the complaint said. He "looked up and saw a man looking at him through the vent."

The boy "was unsure that it was Happel, but he feels like it was," the complaint said. He said a door slid back, covering the vent, and investigation verified his description of a sliding door.

Police ask anyone with information about Happel or who potentially has been a victim to contact them at 651-266-5685, Paulos said Thursday.

The case Happel was charged in occurred at the school's upper campus, Monroe, which is for grades four through eight. Principal Bryan Bass and a social worker have talked to students in all the Monroe classrooms, Brown said.

Bass sent an email to parents Wednesday night, telling them there will be a school meeting for parents Monday to address the alleged staff misconduct.

"I know this has been a difficult situation for everyone, but we will do everything we can to answer your questions and ensure the safety of our students," he wrote.

The school district hired Happel in December 1984, and "there is no indication of a background check in his file at the time of his hiring," Brown has said.

It's unclear when the district began to conduct background checks, Brown said, but the "absence of this document from the file suggest it was not a regular practice at the time of Mr. Happel's hire in 1984. Of course, all job offers today are contingent upon a successful background check."

Dave Wickiser, father of fourth-grade twins at the school, said he read about the allegations against Happel and thought, "It was unbelievable. ... I keep circling back to the same thing -- the school district's position of them thinking they've done everything right just shows there's a blind spot in the policy."

Wickiser said he believes the case doesn't reflect on Bass, who started at the school this school year, or teachers or staff, but the school district's administration.

INCIDENTS ON RECORD

During the police investigation into the case charged Thursday, the investigator learned Happel had been involved in an incident in 2003 when he worked at Roosevelt Elementary School. A boy reported that Happel gave him a digital camera that they used to take each other's pictures. "Happel asked the boy not to tell anyone about the camera and said the gift would be their little secret," the complaint said.

The boy reported hE would meet Happel in the restroom, and the custodian would give the boy candy. The boy said Happel never touched him or asked him to take his clothes off.

Police couldn't access images on the camera. The school district told police they would address the matter internally. Happel got a written reprimand from the district.

In 2011, a 12-year-old boy reported that Happel had been following him into a bathroom at the Monroe school on a regular basis. One day, he used a urinal and Happel used the urinal next to him, saying, "It's a big thing," referring to his own exposed penis, the complaint said. The boy said he felt scared and left.

The boy told his mother what happened and reported it to a staff member at the school the next day. "The woman's reaction was that the janitor has been there forever and wouldn't hurt anyone," the complaint said. "Notes in Happel's file indicate that a special education teacher and the assistant principal were aware of the allegation."

The boy's mother left a follow-up message with the school but didn't get a return call, the complaint said. She called police to report the incident when the boy grew uncomfortable about returning to school; the school hadn't reported it to police. "Apparently the assistant principal had talked to Happel about the incident and Happel denied it," the complaint said.

After Happel's arrest this week, when the investigator asked about the 2011 case, "Happel laughed and said, 'Well, that was just unbelievable,' " the complaint said. "Happel explained that while he was urinating, he told the boy who came in that the bathroom was filthy. Happel claimed he told the boy, 'Geez, what a bunch of pigs.' The next thing Happel knew, he was being accused of telling the boy that his penis was big."

Happel received a reprimand from the school district in 2012, the complaint said.

"He was directed to use staff restrooms while in the building," the complaint said.